A young woman carries out a relentless search after losing contact with her artist father resulting in fateful consequences . As a beautiful woman named Arletty (Marianna Hill) travels to the west coast , she goes searching for her missing artist father . Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town . At the beginning she doesn't find him , but Arletty meets Thom (Michael Greer) , a man who's travelling with two lovers, Toni (Joy Bang) and Laura (Anitra Ford). From this moment on , Arletty has unfortunate encounters , nightmares and daydreams . And other weird episodes during which the frightened Arletty seems to be mercilessly chased along the way . In order to live they will take you one by one and no one will hear you scream ! . Meet Albert. Albert likes good music, motor trips by moonlight, and...eating human flesh !. Albert is one of the Dead People. What is happening with the zombie apperance ?. Enter at your own risk! . Enter... if you dare . She Escaped Death. Now It Wants Her Back! She Was A Stranger Among The Living. Is there death after life? . A story so unusual it will burn itself into your mind . A weird tale of the unnatural . A picture that will haunt you. Terror you won't want to remember . In a film you won't be able to forget. Terror reigns when he returns.

A really atmospheric and psychological horror film in little budget and enjoyable compositions , it is set at a Californian coastal town that is supposedly invaded by some odd beings , Zombies-alike , and in which our starring must contend the personal demons as well as odd , stalking enemies . There are several scary scenes , chills , thrills , suspense and astonishing ending . A simple and plain plot about a gorgeous girl who's subsequently frightened by ghostly apparitions and becomes drawn to a mysterious abandoned little town with a few townsfolks prowling here and there . The film bears a certain resemblace to the classic ¨Carnival of Souls¨(1962) also with a disconcerting protagonist surrounded by fantastic appearances . Spooky and ghastly frames when our starring is relentlessly chased and attacked by weird figures whose repeated apperances seem mysteriously connected with his disappeared father . Cult-followed suspenseful movie has young Marianna Hill escaping from threatening people and including a tense as well as surprising finale . Including a good support cast such as : Elisha Cook Jr., Anitra Ford , Royal Dano , Charles Dierkop , and even brief appearance by prestigious director Walter Hill as the stabbing victim in prologue and Gloria Katz co-writer cameo as the woman in the box office at the theatre .

It contains a striking cinematography by Stephen Katz in brilliant color and with too much night scenes , adding a sinister atmosphere . Likewise, adequate and rare electronic music by Bishop . This is a confusing but acceptable low-rent production from the writers of ¨American Graffiti¨ : Willard Huyck , Gloria Katz. Filmmaker/writer/producer Willard Huyck was married to Gloria Katz who also served as writer, producer and uncredited filmmaker . As Willard Huyck is a writer/producer and occasionally director with no much success , such as : Best Defense , Willard the Duck , French Postcard . While Gloria Katz was a notorious writer including the following ones : Radioland Murders , American River , Howard the Duck , Indiana Jones and the temple of Doom , French Postcards , More American Graffiti , Lucky Lady , among others . Rating : 6/10 . The movie will appeal to cult movie fans .

Heavily Influenced by Italian Horror (Mario Bava, etc) and Lovecraft Sensibilities.

This "Film-School" Experiment Coats the Movie with Heavy-Handed Flourishes of Artfulness that Gives the Movie a Surreal Feel Apart from the Usual.

Contemporaries of John Lucas the Writer/Director Husband/Wife Team of Huyck/Katz Worked with Lucas on "American Graffiti" (1973) and "Howard The Duck" (1986).

But this Personal Project is as Far From Graffiti/Duck as one Can Imagine.

It's a Psychedelic-Moody-Horror Show with a Pretense to Show-Off as Much Color and Off-Beat Images as Possible.

It's Got a Look All its Own.

Creepy, Laid-Back Tone and Leisurely Paced, besides Film as Art, it takes an Obvious Cue from Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968).

A Forgotten Film that has Languished in Obscurity for Decades, it has Recently been Revived on DVD and Moderns have Slowly Discovered a Hidden Gem.

Not for All Tastes.

But for those Overdosed on the Gorge of the Zombie Culture of Recent Years and Seeking a Different Approach and Appearance, this one Delivers.

With its humans turned into soul-less flesh-eating ghouls and an eerie, brooding, dream-like atmosphere, Messiah of Evil seems to have been inspired by cult classics Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, Night of the Living Dead and Carnival of Souls, whilst also drawing inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft's book The Shadow Over Innsmouth (itself made into a film, Dagon (2001), by director Stuart Gordon). In turn, the film most likely provided inspiration for Gary Sherman's enjoyable 1981 coastal zombie horror movie Dead & Buried. If you're a fan of the aforementioned movies, or of Lovecraft, then Messiah of Evil is definitely worth checking out: it's a chilling, atmospheric, unsettling tale that really gets under the skin, with several truly macabre scenes that makes one wonder why the film isn't better known and more highly regarded.

Marianna Hill plays Arletty, who drives to the Californian coastal town of Point Dune to try and find her artist father, with whom she has lost contact. When she arrives, she discovers the town almost deserted and her father's beach-front property empty; entries in a journal suggest that he was losing his mind. Inquiring after her missing father at an art gallery, Arletty is directed to a motel where she meets Thom (Michael Greer), and his two lovers, Laura (Anitra Ford) and Toni (Joy Bang). Thom is a collector of old legends, and interviews local eccentric Charlie (Elisha Cook Jr.), who tells a story about a dark stranger who, one hundred years ago, spread his evil throughout the town.

After Charlie is found dead, his body partially devoured, Thom, Toni, and Laura are kicked out of their motel and invite themselves to stay with Arletty, where they notice that the townsfolk are behaving very strangely, gathering on the beach at night, lighting fires and staring out to sea. It eventually transpires that the inhabitants of Point Dune have been transformed into cannibalistic creatures by an evil force, and are awaiting the return of their messiah, the dark stranger. Meanwhile, both Laura and Toni are trapped and eaten, and Thom and Arletty start to exhibit worrying signs of being affected by the evil.

Not everything about Messiah of Evil is fully explained, but this ambiguity only adds to the disorientating effect that makes the film such a memorably surreal and nightmarish experience. We don't really know much about the albino trucker, but we know enough to find him extremely disturbing (he eats live rats!). We don't really know that much about Thom, but there's the suggestion that he is somehow connected to the dark stranger. And we never learn a great deal about the origins of the evil force. However, we sure as hell know that there's something really wrong with the people of Point Dune, and that staying there isn't a great idea. Laura gets it, and tries to leave, but - in one of the film's most effective scenes - she is pursued by the ghouls through the usually serene aisles of a supermarket and eaten. The film's other standout moment takes place in a movie theatre: Toni takes a seat in the almost deserted theatre, but while she watches the screen, the rows behind her are gradually filled by the ominous townsfolk - it's a masterfully executed moment that delivers serious chills.

Don't go looking for a happy ending either: good doesn't triumph over evil, with Thom drowning, and Arletty escaping only to be sent to an asylum where she must wait in fear for the dark stranger's power to spread throughout the land.

7.5/10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

N. B. Director Walter Hill (48 Hrs., Southern Comfort, The Warriors) appears as 'Stabbing Victim in Prologue'.